


Frozen Hell

by ShuaWrites



Series: HEARTBEAT! Origin Stories [2]
Category: HEARTBEAT (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 10:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20992949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShuaWrites/pseuds/ShuaWrites
Summary: A short-story detailing Oliver's life and how he met his Conjurer.





	Frozen Hell

I see, well it is nice to meet you. You don't have to worry too much of those bullies anymore, Cass and I are here to protect ya! But I guess you must be rather confused as to who we are, let alone who I am after I made my declaration; which I do intend on following through of course. My name is Oliver Astaire, your devilishly charming Cat Sith, and your entertainer for now.

My earliest memories would have to be during my time in Snowver. I was stranded there for quite some time, turns out that my parents were hunted down by the locals. Suffice it to say that was the last time I'd hear from them: not that I remembered them too well. To keep me safe, however, they had to stuff me inside the trunk of a tree. Anything after that was just a cacophony of shouting and blurred visions of humans running in the snowfall. I guess they must really hate Mogwai, huh?

Anyway, I remember leaving the tree when the heavy snow calmed to a gentle flurry and the screaming quieted to an agonizing silence. Cold, harsh winds from winter’s depths swept across the frozen mountainside. I was still a wee kitten at the time, but thankfully I had my flames to keep me warm. But those embers could only take me so far, so I collapsed from lack of heat and energy. 

I became easy pickings for any feral Mogwai that stalked the winter night. Low, vicious growls began to fill my ears while I saw various Mogwai circle around me. That’s when I heard it, the voice of my guardian. “Winter’s Allégro!” the voice exclaimed before a heavy thud echoed throughout the mountainside. Arctic winds swept across the area from the attack while a feral Drake Mogwai flew over my head and landed in front of my collapsed body.

I lifted my head, gazing upon the unresponsive Drake, and the large icicle that was lodged within their body. The sound of chains rattling in the wintery zephyrs was all that was heard after the first attack had been thrown. Anything after was hazy before I blacked out moments later.

The following morning I awakened to find myself staring lazily up at a wooden ceiling. I was tucked firmly into a bed that was multiple times larger than myself. “Oh joy! Mai, look he’s awake!” a chipper voice called out before two faces hovered over me. One of which was Floke Kelly: a Yang Cerberus Mogwai that was smiling brightly down upon me. The other was an old man by the name of Mai Rogers: he was Floke’s Conjurer and maintained a shelter for lost Mogs and travellers. 

They explained that they were following me for some time before I had collapsed. Floke came to my rescue and they both scared off the feral Mogs that were looking forward to eating me. Afterwards, I was brought to their shelter and nurtured back to good health. I questioned if they had seen my parents, then there was silence. Floke grew more timid and anxious when I inquired of their whereabouts, but Mai simply shook his head. 

With nowhere else to call home, Mai and Floke offered to take me in, at least till I felt comfortable leaving on my own. Without a moment’s hesitation, I agreed.

During my time there, Mai and Floke taught me the wonders of the human world: song, dance, literature, and more. I spent my time listening to the old records and comic books that Mai had since he was younger. The comics were of heroes and their daily feats of rescuing the troubled souls. They faced adversity with confidence and were always smiling at the end. The songs that were on the records were of hopeful romantics and cheerful days accompanied by upbeat instrumentals. I couldn’t help but lose myself to the worlds of these stories and take the music to heart. Oftentimes Floke and Mai came home to see me make poor attempts at dancing. 

The two of them helped me learn to dance. Primarily it was Floke who showed me examples of what to do, but Mai gave me lessons and choreographed beginning dances so I could practice. Years flew by, I got better at dancing even mixed styles to create a style of my own. I learned how to control my magic due to using an open fire to cook. I even created my own style of fighting and sparred with Floke whenever he had time. 

I soon became strong enough to join Floke on his patrols of Snowver’s mountainside to rescue any lost Mogwai or humans and to care for them. Mai was becoming older and frailer by the month, and he was no longer able to accompany us due to his bodily state. It also didn’t help that all those years he spent moving through the harsh terrain and carrying bodies through it would wear down his joints and muscles over time. It pained me deeply to see him barely able to move around the house as he once did, let alone be able to walk outside.

Mai became bedridden for five days; the day that he had passed was the day that music died for me. I cannot speak for Floke, but the two of us fell into a deep depression. He refused to leave the house for years, leaving me to patrol in his stead. His mood swings became more extreme and uncontrollable; we often bickered over small things and he’d result to violence if the argument overly stressed him, which didn’t take much to do so. 

I felt bad for Floke, but I couldn’t keep living like that. More than a century had passed since Mai’s death; I was out patrolling as I usually did, and there he was. A young human male lying on the snow and staring up at the night sky. I approached him, curious to what he was doing alone in the winter night. “Stargazing,” he said plain as day; he pointed up towards a grouping of stars with his right hand, explaining that it formed into a constellation of a fox. 

“Aren’t you cold?” I questioned him, to which he responded with a simple, “yes.” It seemed that he was camping out in Snowver for a day just to get the chance to view the stars from the mountains. “I didn’t want to miss this,” he started, “I’m not even from here, but I wanted to see constellations before I have to go back home.” 

“Not from here? What do you mean?” I asked him as he turned his head to face me, giving me an inquisitive look. “Well, I live somewhere else. I’m just treating myself to a small vacation after I finished my show last week,” he spoke, but it only left me even more confused. Yet I was intrigued by this man and what was meant by all he said. “Can I come with you?” I asked him without a second thought, and he just gave me another weird and inquisitive expression before laughing quietly to himself. 

“Wait, you’re serious?” he asked me, I gave him a nod in response. He let out a small sigh. “Why do you wanna come with? We just met.” I gave him a weak smile, offering him my right hand to pull him out of the snow. “I just want to see the world beyond this frozen hell.” His sapphire eyes stared into my own eyes while he thought over what I had just said. He reached for me with his right hand; our hands interlocking with one another as I pulled him out of the snow. 

“For now, we should head back to my...home,” I said. The thought of how Floke would react upon seeing me return with whom I found to be a suitable Conjurer frightened me. He placed his right hand upon my shoulder, this simple gesture bringing me back to reality as he looked at me with concern in his eyes. “Hey, are you alright? It’s pretty chilly out here, better not freeze up on me now!” he said jokingly to make me laugh, but he stopped when he saw the tears beginning to form in my eyes.

He stepped closer towards me, wiping the tears away with his right hand; I was rather afraid of Floke. At the time his mood swings were very unpredictable and he could get violent without hesitation. But I couldn’t just leave him all alone at the time, so I was anxious for his well-being. “I don’t know what’s up with you, but we can hold hands until we get to your house if it makes you feel any better,” he offered before flashing me a warm smile. “Name’s Cass by the way.” I nodded in response, clutching his hand tightly before I started to lead him to my home. 

My free hand rose to open the door, but it had already been pulled open. A hand lunged to grab hold of me, but Cass managed to pull me away before it could clutch onto the collar of my coat. He led me down from the steps of the house and onto the ground; a piercing gaze stared right through me. The sound of chains rubbing against each other caused a vicious, metallic screech to ring against my ears. Floke stepped out of the house for the first time in over a century.

He bared his weapons against us, which were shackles with broken chains attached to them. Cass stood up from the snow-blanketed ground, helping me up in the process. “So this is why you were afraid,” he uttered as Floke launched a large icicle towards him. I ignited my left leg with blazing flames, deflecting the attack directed towards him before standing in front of Cass. “You plan to leave me and Mai? After all we did for you?” Floke spoke out; vexation, misery, and regret were mixed in with his words. Tears rolled down his dark-skinned cheeks, his face scrunched up to form a scowl as the drops of water dripped from his chin and froze before hitting the ground. 

“How did you--”

“You think I’ll let you try to run away? I’ve always been following you, Oliver; I knew you’d try something if I left you alone. It only took you 180 years to finally give in,” Floke spoke, his tone of voice shifting from anger and dejection constantly. “I...we can’t keep living like this! Don’t just look at me for proof, look at our very home. I’m always repairing some kind of wood that has rotted away,” I retorted, plumes of fire rising from the bottoms of my feet.

“Floke Kelly and Oliver Astaire, stop this at once!” a familiar voice proclaimed; Cass pointed towards the roof of the house where an unfamiliar man was seen standing atop of. Both of us looked up. “If you two were going to spend nearly two centuries bickering and fighting one another: then perhaps I should’ve saved my breath when I was still just a Conjurer instead of raising you two like brothers,” he stated as Floke dropped to his knees.

“Floke, I am most disappointed in you of all; if Oliver wishes to see the world with his very own eyes, then who are you to stop him? At least he had the heart to continue living; all he’s done was care for you and even went out during the night on his patrols all by himself while you stayed and moped,” he explained as the Cerberus went to open his mouth to speak, but the Yang Kitsune simply raised his right hand, indicating for him to stay silent. “I’ll say it more clearly next time, and perhaps make a note of it if I need too. You two are brothers, you should not be fighting one another over sentiments. If I was still dead, I would not want to see you two like this. You are family through and through: Fire or Ice, Cerberus or Cat Sith, I raised you two, and you are siblings until the flames of hell freeze over and shatter.”

But all of this was too much for Floke to bear at the time. Mai had returned in the form of a Mogwai, and the first thing he did to him was to reprimand him for all of the years of torment he caused for me. I walked over to him, dispelling the flames at my feet and began to console the Cerberus. “Listen, Floke, you don’t have to apologize, I don’t blame you for any of that. I know it was hard for you, but you should’ve told me how I could help you rather than just shutting yourself out,” I spoke to him kindly as he trembled within my arms. 

“You there, Cass, was it? Take good care of Oliver, the amount of effort and care you put into him, he reciprocates by doing the same. Now go on you two, Floke and I will continue our services here in Snowver. Hopefully he would recuperate by the next time you two visit,” Mai had given us his wishes for me to leave with Cass. “I promise to write you two letters,” I said as he simply laughed. “Eh, doubt it, you barely remember to brush your own teeth sometimes.”

After that had happened, we spent the night at the home and set out to the foot of the mountain by morning. Cass apparently had scheduled a boat to pick him up two days after he first arrived, and we reached Bowfort that way. Once we landed, we pacted, and I became Cass’ Mogwai. That was the day that music was resurrected for me, and when he and I vowed to stay at each other’s sides until hell froze over. 


End file.
